"Winter shook her head, apology swimming in her amber eyes. Scarlet would have wanted to hug her if she hadn’t simultaneously wanted to strangle her."

"This is Winter," said Scarlet. "Princess Winter."Thorne guffawed and pushed a hand into his hair. "Are we running a boardinghouse for misplaced royalty around here, or what?"

"You are the capital U in Unhelpful."

"WINTER SPOILER KINDACinder stared at his whitened knuckles and struggled for something meaningful to say. Her grand plan of revolution and change had just begun and already she felt like a failure. This seemed worse than failing the people of Luna, though. She'd failed the people she cared about most in the universe.Finally, she whispered, "I'm so sorry, Thorne.""Yeah," he said. "Me too."

"WINTER SPOILER - KINDA IDRKCinder looked away. Though so much had changed between them since that night, it still felt like an ice pick in her heart when she remembered the way he'd looked at her, and his horrified words: You're even more painful to look at than she is."

"So much importance pressed into so few words. It was just like Jacin."

"She screamed like an assassin was driving a knife into her stomach.She screamed like a thousand birds were pecking at her flesh.She screamed like the palace was burning down around her."

"I have lived in fear of her my entire life," she continued. "If this is the only chance I'm given to stand against her, then I have to take it. I don't want to hide. I don't want to be afraid. And I don't want to be separated from you, ever again."

"Levana's face was fiercely beautiful. Breathtaking in her viciousness."

"No. She will never be queen.” She swayed toward him, and he felt like he was being encircled by a python, smothered and choked."